being human
by nicola de lenfent
Summary: Esther's ritual to kill the Originals ends with some strange consequences. Bonnie is suddenly the most powerful being in town helping friends and enemies alike navigate the human life.
1. Oops

**oops**

"Stefan..." Bonnie could barely hear her own voice, standing in the basement of the witch's house in the dark. Esther was above, facing the Originals who had come a few minutes too early for the spell to work. "Stefan, no."

_If you can't stop her, I'll have to find another way_...

Bonnie tried to turn away, to run back to Abby – but Stefan was in front of her. The same brooding expression, the same furrowed brow she had seen a hundred times when he spoke of Elena – when he spoke of protecting her. But this time, it was aimed at her.

He was going to kill _her_.

Bonnie knew it with the certainty of her own heart beat.

"They're drawing from our line, alive _and_ dead," Bonnie pointed out.

"The line will break," Stefan had said ominously, "If one of you isn't a witch anymore."

"Don't do this," Bonnie said, hating the pleading in her voice. But she was desperate. She could feel the tears welling up already.

In the distance, she heard Abby's muffled cry of surprise.

"Damon!" Bonnie screamed, "Damon, no!"

She tried to push past Stefan, tried to get to her, but he held her in place. She was fighting against him, struggling with all her might. She would've zapped him with an aneurysm or lit Damon up if there was time enough to think – if there was time enough to do anything other than scream. Her power was useless to her anyway – Esther was draining it all, she needed it all.

And then suddenly, Stefan dropped forward – unmoving.

"Ugh," Bonnie cried as she shoved his limp body off of her. She heard it thud behind her but didn't stop to look. At the top of the stairs, she saw a similar scene. Damon was on the floor, his wrist bleeding out, his blood dripping from Abby's mouth as she tried to wipe it from her lips. She was on the floor, crawling desperately away from him.

"Bonnie," Abby cried, "You're alright."

"Mom!" Bonnie said, the word feeling strangely right on her lips for the first time. And then she turned to Damon, wanted to kick him, wanted to _kill_ him. She turned towards him, stood above him, levelled her hands so they hovered over his incapacitated form.

She was about to start chanting when she noticed.

"Damon..." Bonnie said, dropping to her knees. His blood was seeping out of his wrist in time with... a heart beat? "Damon, you're..."

He was paling by the second. Leave it to him to open a major artery. Bonnie pulled her scarf from her neck and was wrapping his wrist up, his blood coloring the fabric in seconds. She applied pressure and started, between tears, to say a healing chant.

"What's going on?" Abby asked, still stunned at the sight before her. She crawled forward and placed her hands over Bonnie's.

"I don't know," Bonnie sobbed, shaking her head, "I don't know, but I think... he's dying."

"He tried to kill me," Abby said, breathlessly.

"I know," Bonnie said, but her concentration was elsewhere. Damon wasn't supposed to be bleeding out. This didn't make sense. "I have to heal him."

Abby looked at her daughter in confusion. She glanced behind them at the staircase leading to the basement and thought she heard the floor boards creaking.

"It's Stefan," Bonnie said without turning her eyes from Damon. "You need to get out of here, Abby. You've had vampire blood, he's going to kill you to break Esther's line to us."

"I'm not leaving you," Abby said resolutely.

"You have to," Bonnie said.

"No," Abby said, gripping Bonnie's hands more firmly over Damon's wrist. She began reciting a chant that Bonnie didn't know. Bonnie looked at her for a few seconds before joining in. Soon, Damon's blood wasn't gushing out. Bonnie was covered in it, but he seemed to be healed.

She was acting on instinct, on the tools and tricks she had learned from being a mortal living a very dangerous life. _If you pull away the fabric, the clotting can come with it_. Then she moved her hands to his head and shifted the vampire to a more comfortable position.

"You better be okay, you bastard," Bonnie said, "So I can kill you myself."

Damon let out a small groan that had Bonnie breathing a sigh of relief.

Then Bonnie reached up and pressed her hand against his throat. "It's okay," she said, a small smile pulling at her lips as she turned to Abby. "He has a pulse."

"He..." Abby's face contorted. "Has a pulse?"

"Oh my God," Bonnie said, her eyes wide as she jabbed her hand into Damon's throat again. He let out a gurgling sound of pain and moved to sit up. She shoved him down again, and pressed her head to his chest.

"Bonnie?" he muttered, dazed. His entire face contorted, like he was in incredible pain. He moved a hand to his temple as if t massage it.

"Oh my God!" Bonnie said, meeting Abby's stunned eyes with her own. "Damon, you're... alive."

"No thanks to you, I'm sure," Damon scowled before righting himself. Then he turned to Abby and frowned. "So are you!"

He moved to get up, but Bonnie held him in place easily with her magic. _Far too easily_.

"What did Esther say the first stage of her spell was?" Abby asked calmly, backing away from both Bonnie and Damon.

"To turn Finn human," Bonnie said softly. "Damon, you're..."

"We're human?" Stefan's voice came groggily to her from the staircase.

"They're all..." Abby gaped, "human. But she was only aiming at the Originals..."

"That means..." Bonnie gasped, turning to Abby. "We have to go."

"What?" Stefan frowned, speaking louder than necessary. A steady drum was sounding in his head, loud enough to give him a killer headache.

Bonnie grabbed her mother's hand and ran to the front of the house. As she exited, she whispered a soft spell that would keep them in place. She left the house just in time to see the knife Esther was brandishing threaten to come down on Finn.

"No!" Bonnie yelled. Esther, surprised, turned to glance at her.

"Stop it!" Bonnie said.

"They have to die," Esther said simply.

"You wanted to kill vampires," Bonnie spat at the older witch. The rest of Finn's brothers stood on the opposite side of the salt pentagram. Kol was cradling his head in one corner, on the ground as if in pain. Elijah was slowly standing to his feet. And Klaus was pacing, his frustrating written all over his face, as he tried again and again to charge at the salt boundary and was blocked.

"These are not vampires," Bonnie said, looking around.

"The balance must be restored," Esther said simply. "You will come to understand in time, sister."

"You lied to me," Bonnie said, her voice soft but serious. "You said this would kill the Originals. You didn't say anything about it affecting the vampires that descend from them. _All of them_."

"The Salvatore brothers," Esther began.

"Caroline Forbes," Bonnie said, her eyes so sharp and serious on Esther and the knife that Abby thought the Original witch herself might go up in flames, "Tyler Lockwood. They are not going to die tonight."

"They are vampires," Esther tried again.

"They have not lived long enough to be the beasts your children are," Bonnie said simply. "As long as killing Finn will kill his siblings, and will kill all of their vampire lines..." she shook her head, "I will not assist you."

"You can't stop me now," Esther said, pulling Finn to stand before her.

Bonnie's eyes flashed with fire, and soon all of the lanterns were shooting to the sky with flame.

"My ancestors will not help you," Bonnie said. "Even if I have to kill myself..."

Esther flinched then, as if Bonnie had discovered something and the young girl nodded as she walked forward. The Salvatore brothers were at the door of the witch's house. Elijah was looking at them in confusion, like there was something he had asked them to do but had since forgotten. Abby stood between the Salvatores and Bonnie – they couldn't exit, but if they did, she would stop them. She would protect her child.

Bonnie stood in front of the witch's house, the moon at its apex in the sky, and extended her arms. She started mumbling in Latin, and Esther could only watch as the knife was flung from her hand. Next was Finn. She struggled against Esther's clutch, but her ancestors would always choose her. Bennetts will always protect their own.

And Caroline as her own. Tyler was her own.

"Leave now," Bonnie said to the witch. "Or I will do it."

"You wouldn't," Esther said. "We are on the same side."

"There is only one side," Bonnie said, approaching Esther slowly. "My side."

Everyone was yelling around her. Screaming. Shouting directions and names. Only Abby, behind her, was calm and concentrated.

Esther crossed her arms, glaring at Bonnie.

And then she did it.

She said a simple incantation and then flicked her eyes to the former hybrid.

"Klaus," she called his name, and it was louder than the screaming – louder than the flames and the chanting. She nodded at the pentagram. "Enter."

He was inside as fast as his human legs could carry him, jumping through the flames and ignoring the smell of his own burning flesh. He leaped at Esther.

But she was gone.

"No!" he screamed, and Bonnie felt his anguish rush through the centre of her heart.

She turned to the Salvatores now, and both brothers were stunned by what they saw. They took identical steps backwards as she approached. Bonnie's eyes weren't their normal green-brown hue. They were glowing a rich, emerald green that seemed to dance and spark as she narrowed them at the former vampires.

"Where is Elena?" she asked.

"Elijah," Stefan offered, but could find no other words.

Bonnie turned to Elijah and saw him moving to assist Kol. To help him up so they could limp away from the scene. Bonnie extended on arm and twisted her wrist. She almost enjoyed how they fell to the earth.

Suffocation.

Bonnie moved to stand over the brothers, walking easily through the salt past Klaus who found himself in the same predicament. He tried to grab her ankle as she moved past, but she shook him off like an annoying dog.

"You," Bonnie said, leaning forward to look at Elijah. "You are still connected to them. And you're mortal now. No one else can undo this connection. Every time your genius brother Kol gets his ass kicked, you're going to feel it. When Klaus feels the very real, human pain all of his enemies will come back to inflict," Bonnie almost snickered, "You're going to feel it."

She released her grasp on him, and let him gasp in some air.

"Bring me Elena," Bonnie said with a serious frown. "And I'll unlink you. If even one hair on her head is damaged," Bonnie pressed the heel of her boot into his hand, wincing a bit at how his face twisted at the new pain, "I will kill you."

She stepped away from him. "You have one hour."

Elijah nodded, reaching for his phone. He spoke into it hurriedly for a few moments, gathered Kol and left. Klaus stood in the circle, finding his bearings at last. He turned to face Bonnie, his back to the Salvatores. He tilted his head, looking at her quizzically before approaching.

"Don't even breath in my direction," Bonnie said snippily.

"I am still a werewolf," Klaus said. "Don't treat me as a mere mortal."

"I would be so lucky," Bonnie spat back, "If you or your kind ever treated me as well as you did some mortals." She cast an eye at the Salvatore brothers still locked in the house.

Klaus eyed the young witch, and he couldn't decide if it was with hatred for assisting his mother or appreciation for saving him. Or admiration for literally stepping on and over her enemies.

"Go, Klaus," Bonnie said boredly. "If Elijah doesn't return in the hour, I will see you shortly."

He turned to Finn and Bonnie held out a warning hand.

"Finn stays with me," Bonnie said. She offered a sweet smile. "Suicide watch."

Klaus frowned. "This," he looked at himself in disgust, "_state_ will not last forever."

"_Nothing_ lasts forever," Bonnie said. "Now, go. Before I release the Salvatores."

Klaus stilled a bit at that. He offered Finn a final look and then walk away. Backwards. Looking at Bonnie the entire time.

When he was speeding away in his car, Bonnie fell to her knees and let all of the magic go.

Damon and Stefan were at her side as soon as their human feet could carry.

"Caroline..." Bonnie said, grabbing Stefan's arm, "And Tyler. Please, make sure they're alright. Make sure they're somewhere safe. Klaus... doesn't need to be invited in anymore."

"Okay," Stefan said, his eyes still foggy like he was in a daze.

Then she turned to Damon, "Finn. We have to get him back to the Boarding House," she glanced over her shoulder at the older vampire, coming to while Abby leaned down beside him. She turned him over and placed her hand on his forehead, pushing his hair from his face.

"Bonnie," Damon said, placing his hand on her arm. Her scarf was still wrapped tightly around it. "What's going on?"

"All the vampires," Bonnie said, blinking rapidly as if trying to make sense of it herself. "All the vampires are human."

**BBB**

**AN: Hiii! Dun dun daaa the vampires are human! I don't know where this story is going or who I should pair Bonnie up with... Anyone? Everyone? No idea! I'm open to suggestions, let me know what you think!**

**p.s. I know, I know, I have **_**Bewitched**_** to finish, and **_**The Switch**_** to somehow find inspiration for again. Ahh! But I couldn't help it, this story has been bugging me for so long to be written!**


	2. Prelife Crisis

**AN: Thank you for the reviews and suggestions! I'm still open for more. I think I will get a better feel for who to pair Bonnie with as this goes on. The indecision is kind of fun tho XD This chapter is just plot sorting itself out, but there'll be a lot more character interaction as the story continues.**

_**Pre-life Crisis**_

Bonnie did a happy dance.

Stefan showed up with Caroline, in joyous, blubbering tears, with Tyler close behind. Caroline grabbed Bonnie's hands and they were jumping up and down, simultaneously sobbing and laughing and pausing to catch their breath – before starting up again.

Stefan retired to his room. Abby was tending to Finn's wounds in the bathroom, and Damon was seasoning something that smelled downright delicious. Apparently, returning to human form, made one very, very hungry.

"It's like when you turn," Damon had surmised to himself on the way over, "You have to feed for it to be permanent."

"So you're making human food so you can be human," Bonnie had said.

"Italian food," Damon had corrected to the roaring applause of his stomach, and Bonnie had been delighted enough to laugh. She was too high on the adrenaline to process anything other than the fact that the vampires had been neutralised and she, Bonnie Bennett, was now the most powerful creature in town.

But when Abby shot her a look from the back of the car, Finn cradled in her arms with a bad bruise forming on his head, Bonnie stopped laughing.

This could've all gone so differently, she reminded herself. She could be motherless. Worse, her mother could be a vampire! Elena could be dead. They could still be looking for a way to kill the Originals. Worse, they might not have realized the connection the lives of the Originals had to all of them until it was too late – until they killed the wrong one and Caroline or Tyler was dead. Bonnie could admit to herself neither Stefan nor Damon would be worth saving the Originals for. They had lived almost two lifetimes each. It was her young friends she would miss. Almost missed. Almost.

Their fate hung by such a precarious, strange thread, that Bonnie couldn't help taking a moment to do a happy dance with her best friend.

"I can't believe it!" Caroline said as they danced around the room. "I'm going to go sunbathing tomorrow!"

"I'm going to read a book that's not a Grimoire!" Bonnie said.

"I'm going to have to go on birth control," Caroline said.

"I'm going to eat my weight in chocolate," Bonnie declared.

"That's not a vamp thing," Caroline pointed out.

"I'm going to have to explain all those blood bags," Damon chirped in from the kitchen.

"That is," Caroline said and the girls started laughing again.

Tyler sat awkwardly on the couch, feeling like he was in second grade again and Caroline had just been told she had received more valentines than anyone else. All that was missing was a pouting Elena.

And, on cue, the doorbell rang.

Bonnie composed herself long enough to answer it.

"Elena Gilbert," Elijah said, nudging the girl across the threshold and into the house.

"Bonnie," Elena breathed, her mouth a stunned "O". "What's going on?"

But then Caroline squealed and ran out to grab Elena's hand and started pressing it against her chest. "Feel, feel!" she demanded.

"What..." Elena coloured, "What am I feeling?"

Elijah smirked and shot Bonnie a look dripping with condescension. So, she turned to her friends and said, in an even tone: "Girls, Elijah and I have something to discuss."

"I should..." Elena began, but Bonnie cut her off.

"Future discussions with Elijah," Bonnie clarified with only a hint of annoyance, "will be handled by me."

"Come on," Caroline said, tugging Elena away from the front door. "I'll explain."

"Shall we?" Elijah said, gesturing towards his car.

Bonnie frowned. "No, we shall not."

Now Elijah frowned. "You said you would break the link."

"I will," Bonnie said sincerely. She cast a glance to her friends in the living room and smiled. "Tomorrow."

"A lot can happen in one night," Elijah said, leaning forward. His voice was low but still regal.

"If you hurt anyone I love," Bonnie said simply, "I'll take it out on Finn."

Elijah pulled back. "You wouldn't. It would kill your friends."

"There are a lot worse things than death," Bonnie reminded him. "And I happen to have _The Ripper_ on my side." Elijah cringed. "Need I remind you that you will feel every pang of pain that he feels?"

"How do I know you won't harm him tonight?" Elijah bit out.

"How do I know you won't harm him when the link is done?" Bonnie challenged, "And harm whatever vampires descend from him."

"Your friends are not of Finn's line," Elijah explained. "Finn has been locked up for nine hundred years. The vampires he turned have all but died out. And the Salvatores do not come from Sage's line."

"Finn stays with me," Bonnie concluded, as if she hadn't heard him at all. "Until I can be sure that whatever link there is between you and your descendants is broken, Finn is under my protection."

"I, too, should be under your protection," Elijah said. "I turned the vampire who turned Rose."

"Rose turned Katherine," Bonnie concluded, "Who turned the Salvatores, who turned Caroline."

"And then there is Klaus," Elijah said, "Who turned Tyler."

Bonnie frowned. "One step at a time. I'll undo the link tomorrow. Then I will find a way to sever all of the links, and you will all be free to go on your ways."

"Fine," Elijah said, tight lipped. "Until tomorrow."

"Wait," Bonnie said. "Mystic Falls is my home."

"It is our home," Elijah corrected.

"There will be no more deaths here."

"I do not kill for sport," Elijah said as if he was above it.

"See to it that your siblings do not, either," Bonnie said.

"Fine," Elijah nodded, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt. "You seem to have gotten everything you wanted, Ms. Bennett."

Bonnie smiled. "You, too, Elijah. You're alive. Your family is alive. What else is there?"

"What else, indeed," Elijah agreed, though his heart didn't seem in it. He looked almost lost as their eyes met. He pinned her with his gaze, and she found it suddenly difficult to look away. He offered her a small smile and bowed his head. Taking her hand, he placed a tender kiss to it. "I look forward to working with you."

"Until tomorrow," Bonnie agreed, drawing her hand back. She waited until he drove away before locking the door and turning inside.

**BBBB**

"This is wonderful," Stefan said with mock surprise, sampling some of the sauce Damon was making. Spaghetti and meatballs with beef lasagna and garlic – lovely garlic – on _everything_. Bonnie wasn't sure if Stefan meant Damon's cooking, as he whacked her hand away from the stove, or the situation. Caroline and Tyler were in the other room – possibly making out. No one had the super-hearing abilities to eavesdrop anymore.

"It couldn't have turned out better," Elena smiled, watching Stefan and Damon engage in hushed conversation.

Bonnie blinked. But it could have turned out worse.

She turned her eyes to Finn and Abby in the corner. Abby was cleaning a gash on Finn's arm with cotton balls and hydrogen peroxide. Finn winced at her touches, but said nothing. He hadn't said anything since Esther's ritual had failed. Bonnie wasn't sure if he was please to be human and alive, or disappointed to not be dead (regardless of the form he was in that preceded it).

"Elena," Bonnie said, her eyes still on Abby and Finn, "You shouldn't have met with Elijah."

"I thought-" Elena began to explain.

"For once, we agree, little bird," Damon said, nodding at Bonnie. "That was beyond stupid and wreckless."

Elena colored and Stefan jumped in: "But if she hadn't, we wouldn't have been in the witch's house, and Bonnie wouldn't have known the effects of the spell."

"We'd all be dead," he concluded, glancing at Bonnie, as if she would agree. She said nothing.

"Speaking of Elijah," Damon said, turning around to face the girls, "What was that little visit about? You're not seriously going to help him?"

Bonnie balked. "That was the deal."

"Yeah, but," Damon did that thing with his eyes, widening and narrowing them, making Bonnie realize that it was a _Damon thing_, not a vamp-thing, to look insane and seductive all at once, "You can just unlink _us_ from the Originals, and then we can kill them as planned."

Finn paled in the corner, and Bonnie shot Damon an angry glare.

"What!" Damon protested before saying from the corner of his mouth: "He was going to die anyway."

"Everyone is human now," Bonnie said. "Everyone is going to be reintegrating into this world. Including them."

"So," Damon's face twisted, "You're going to help them?"

"I don't know," Bonnie said. "It's been a few hours, give me a chance to figure stuff out."

"We'll need social security numbers," Stefan said to his brother. "Birth certificates, bank accounts..."

"Jobs," Elena pitched in.

The Salvatore brothers exchanged a look. "No, we won't need that..."

Elena rolled her eyes.

"Well, Bonnie can witch us up some documents," Damon shrugged.

"What?" Bonnie said, "No, I can't."

"You're going to do it for Team Klaus, aren't you?" Damon narrowed his eyes at her. Like he was testing her. Bonnie wanted to scoff and say _Better Team Klaus than Team Elena's Bitches_... but she held her tongue because she wasn't particularly mad at Elena. All of that anger, as usual, was directed at the older Salvatore. And his younger brother, who did not intervene.

Even now, even as the most powerful one among them, they were going to treat her like their personal servant? Even now, after she saved them _again_? Some things never change! Bonnie stood up from her chair and stormed out. She entered the living room with enough anger that Caroline and Tyler had the good sense to halt their kissing and pay attention.

Abby frowned and followed her, Finn close behind. Elena and Stefan exited, too. Damon turned off the stove before joining them, calling out as he went: "What happened to protecting your loved ones? We're not your friends anymore?"

"I admit to have been caught up in the moment before," Bonnie said, crossing her arms. "But let's get one thing straight." She glanced between the Salvatore brothers. "We are not friends."

Abby made her way to her daughter and rested a supportive hand on her shoulder as if to say she would stand behind her. From his stance in the shadows, Finn's eyes shifted to Abby. He waited for her eyes to connect with his, but she seemed determined to keep them neutral and follow her daughter's lead.

Elena gasped. Bonnie almost laughed at the dramatic sound. She spared a glance at Caroline and Tyler who were, wisely, keeping their mouths shut.

"Bonnie," Elena began, "You can't mean that."

"Can't I?" Bonnie snapped. She glanced Stefan with some pity, but she couldn't excuse him completely for his actions while a vampire. "In case they didn't fill you in," she said through tight lips, "Stefan and Damon tried to kill my mother."

Stefan shook his head, his eyes empty. His eyes were pained as they landed on Bonnie. His brow was furrowed, but he kept his mouth shut. Like he was accepting it.

"I had no choice," Damon snapped, waving a sauce pan in one hand and the wooden spoon in the other. "Elena's life was on the line."

"There's always a choice," Bonnie said, her own eyes welling up now with anger. She felt Abby's hand squeeze her shoulder. "Abby had a choice to leave me, and she didn't."

"She did before," Damon pointed out.

"Damon," Stefan warned.

"What?" Damon snapped. "I watched Emily's line for decades!"

"Yeah, well, if good deeds earned you loyalty, I wouldn't be the one you were sacrificing tonight," Bonnie said.

"_You_ weren't," Damon said. Then he glanced at Abby with a shrug, "She was."

"She already saved your life," Abby said, her face a grim line. "Bonnie could have left you to bleed out in the witch's house."

"Yeah," Damon said, but then his voice fell from his lips. His face contorted, like he wanted to say something, but couldn't. Like he hadn't considered her words. He shook his head. "And Stefan could have left her to bleed out after I attacked her."

Bonnie's eyes flicked to Stefan.

"At least help _him_," Damon said almost dismissively, but Bonnie caught his wild, ice-blue eyes and saw the resignation there. She was glad he couldn't hear her heart pound as their eyes met.

He was on his own, Damon thought. And he deserved it. Cleaning up Elena's mistake and sparing Stefan the blame that came with doing the deed himself, Damon had volunteered to be the bad guy again.

"You know," he began, raising the sauce spoon at Bonnie like he was going to make a point. But the way she was looking at him, like she saw right through him. _Worse – like she pitied him_, had him snapping his mouth shut. With nothing left to say, Damon turned on his heel and headed back to the kitchen.

Bonnie opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

"Don't," Stefan said, offering Bonnie a tight, sad smile. "Neither of us deserve your friendship." He took a few steps towards her, and she kept her eyes on him, unsure of what she should do – how should she feel, when he reached out his arms and hugged her.

"Bonnie," he said as he tightened the hug. She could feel her tears welling up faster now, could feel the sobs pooling at the bottom of her throat. "You have already given us so much. In the past, and today. I'm human again. I'm... free."

"Thank you," he said. In the background, she heard Caroline sniffle. This was Caroline's mentor, Bonnie realized: he had saved her from herself. But Caroline respected Bonnie too much to intervene in her decision.

"Stefan..." Bonnie said softly as he uttered another "thank you" against the nape of her neck. His breath was warm, raising goose-bumps on her skin. She found herself lifting her arms and wrapping them around his slim waist. He held her tighter, and she reciprocated by pressing her hands over his back. She could feel his heart pounding against hers under their shirts. Bonnie hid her face in his shoulder as a few tears slipped free.

When he finally let go, he offered her his own watery smile and placed a tender kiss to her forehead.

"I'll see you at school," he said.

"Yeah," Bonnie said softly as he disappeared to join Damon in the kitchen.

"Bonnie," Caroline wailed, jumping up from her seat to hug her friend. Bonnie laughed between sniffles and returned Caroline's embrace. Elena joined them, rubbing her hands on her friends' backs.

"Elena," Bonnie began, from the middle of their giant hug. "I'm sorry..."

"It's your decision, Bonnie," Elena said, ending the discussion. But when she pulled away, Bonnie knew it wouldn't be as simple as she thought. Elena would try to help Stefan as much as she could. But without magic, there was only so much Elena could do.

"Thank you," Bonnie said.

"Bonnie," Tyler cleared his throat from beside them. Bonnie almost laughed when she saw his face. His eyes were averted, and clearly damp, but his face was stern.

"Yes, Tyler?" Bonnie asked sweetly. Caroline hiccupped. Elena giggled.

"Thanks," he said, then pressed his lips together like he didn't want the words to escape.

"You're not happy," Bonnie said, her brow furrowing.

"Yes," Caroline nodded ferociously, "Yes, he is."

"I'm worried," Tyler admitted to the Elena-Bonnie-Caroline amalgamation. "About the full moon."

"Oh," Bonnie's face contorted. "Oh, I forgot."

"Yeah."

"You're still a werewolf."

A dry laugh. "Yeah."

"Tyler, we'll figure it out," Caroline said, reaching out to hold her boyfriend's hand.

Bonnie nodded resolutely. "I will figure this out."

"Klaus," Tyler said, regretting the word immediately as he saw Caroline's face harden and Elena's fall. He added quickly: "He might know."

"Okay," Bonnie said before her friends could stop her. "You're my friend, Tyler. I will help you with this. Even if it means working with Klaus." She smiled wryly, "He's probably scared of me, anyway."

From behind the group, Abby frowned but didn't say anything.

"Thanks, Bon," Tyler said, his relief so palpable that he joined the group hug.

The group dispersed shortly after that. Caroline and Tyler decided to go out and binge on burgers – "I'm going to eat an animal and _enjoy_ it," Caroline had said – and Elena elected to join Stefan and Damon for dinner. Bonnie and Abby were about to retire to the Bennett house when a throat was cleared in the living room.

"Ms. Bennett," Finn said, finding his voice at last. He was looking right at Bonnie, his hands clasped in front of him. "I seem to be," he paused, "without a place to go."

Bonnie blinked, a bit bewildered. She glanced at Abby. They couldn't very well leave Finn with the Salvatores. Unprotected. They might not kill him, but they could hurt him, and Finn – with his self sacrificial ways and his quiet demeanour – was not someone Bonnie wanted to particularly see get hurt.

"Come with us," Abby said, extending an arm as Finn approached.

Bonnie blinked at her mother, but followed her out the house.

"I'll cook dinner tonight," Abby said, "Anything you like."

Bonnie was silent as she waited for Finn to respond. But when she looked up, she realized that Abby meant _her_. Not the man who had not eaten in a thousand years but _her_, Bonnie, her daughter.

**BBBB**

Witches are _so_ annoying.

Hot as hell, granted. Gorgeous and clever, sure. But damn, were they irritating!

He was _thisclose_ to having it all. His family back. His hybrids. His home town.

Klaus frowned at the scene before him. Rebekah was snoring over a table of Chinese take-out food. They had also ordered Ethiopian and Jamaican delicacies, and a huge order from the Grille that his sister insisted Matt deliver. He didn't seem to notice that Ms. Mikaelson had taken up breathing again.

_Oh, well_, Klaus had said in the face of Rebekah's disappointment, _I'm sure Caroline will explain soon enough._

Rebekah had scowled and started to stuff her face.

Kol had gotten accustomed to the sound of his own heart beating. Though it had been loud enough to almost cripple him before, he had taken a liking to the irregular pitch and pound. He had drowned himself in a bottle of Klaus' best champagne, passing out after his second glass like the newbie he was.

"Bonnie Bennett," Klaus spat her name like a curse as he twirled a pen in his hand.

"Careful, brother," Elijah warned, peering up from the laptop. He was researching exactly what they would need to continue in the future. Rebekah had been turned at seventeen; Kol at nineteen. Elijah, Finn and Klaus were all older. To live in America, they would need birth certificates, educations, social security numbers... all things much more difficult to acquire without compulsion. "Before you become fixated."

"I don't _want_ to need her," Klaus scowled. "But some magic is required in the near future."

"We have an adjustment period coming up," Elijah agreed. They shared a strange look, one they had shared a thousand years before when they first realized the true state of their condition.

"We did it once," Klaus said, toasting his brother with a cup of coffee that (who knew) actually was quite good at keeping him awake.

Elijah nodded. "We'll do it again."

_We'll do it again_, Klaus repeated Elijah's words with a sly smile. Except, he was less interested in making a successful transition again this time – and more interested on how to get back. How to get back to that invincible, immortal feeling and all the power it gave him.

He scowled again at the room in front of him and had to use two fingers to rub his temple that throbbed in pain. Who could go from hybrid to human and be satisfied? Who could give up that power and be happy? How could he sleep soundly – as his younger siblings had no problem doing – knowing that his fate lay in the hands of a witch? A witch who was relentless in her obsession with killing him?

_Bonnie Bennett_, he thought. She was the one pulling the strings now. Which meant, she was the one he needed to have on his side.

**BBBB**

Bonnie had a quiet dinner at home. She was tired. Exhausted. But it was a _good_ tired. The tired you get after you finish something huge. Huge! And that's what Bonnie had done. Well, Esther had done; but Bonnie had kept them human. That deserved a _huge_ bowl of ice cream.

Finn was an excellent house guest. He helped make the sofa bed, staring at it with an engineer's inquisitiveness. He complimented Abby on her cooking, and insisted on doing the dishes. He made them tea in the evening and sat through Bonnie's after-dinner routine of scanning headlines for "animal attacks" without comment. Although the conversation was stilted and awkward – after all, Bonnie was just getting used to having her mother around – there was a sense of calm in the room.

"You don't speak much," Bonnie said to Finn, her toothbrush in her mouth as she sat on the staircase to observe him. Her mother was already asleep in their room. A room she had already put a barrier spell on, _just in case_.

"No," Finn admitted, his eyes glued to the television on mute.

"They say it's always the quiet ones..." Bonnie sang out.

"Who says?"

"Shakespeare."

"Who's Shakespeare?"

A pause.

"Oh, Finn," Bonnie smiled, mouth full of toothpaste, "You have _so_ much catching up to do."

**BBBB**

Damon was waiting for Bonnie when she exited her house in the morning. She glanced at him questioningly as he waved his hand in front of her.

"Morning, sunshine," Damon called out to her.

"Ugh," Bonnie sighed, "There's not enough coffee in the world..."

"I brought supplies," he said, holding up a plastic bag filled with syringes.

"I hope those are clean," Bonnie said, "You _can_ get sick and die now, you know."

"I know," Damon blinked at her. He ran a rand through his hair, and she let out a long sigh. He put his shades on, and still, she did nothing but stare at him. When she finally started to move towards him, resigned to her fate, he waved his hand in front of her.

"No ring," he said.

"Me either," Bonnie joked, waving her left hand in front of him.

"I could change that," Damon said, quirking a brow at her.

"Save it for Elena," Bonnie scoffed. "What do you want?"

Damon walked back to his car and opened the door. "I'm going to accompany you to the Mikaelson's."

"I don't need a chaperone," Bonnie said, moving past him. He grabbed her arm to stop her, and Bonnie almost did the aneurysm spell. She stopped herself just in time, her eyes widening at what she had almost done. She had almost _killed_ human Damon. Oh, dear, Bonnie. Get a grip!

"Bonnie," Damon said, not releasing her wrist. He slid his shades down his eyes, and she was floored by the tiredness of his icey blues.

"What?" Bonnie asked, but her voice was soft and lacked the venom from last night.

"I'm sorry," he said, his brow furrowing as he spoke. His hands came to her shoulders, and he leaned forward. His eyes were searching hers, like he was trying to figure out how she would react.

"Are you trying to compel me?" Bonnie joked, shifting under his gaze. Damon's emotions were raw in his eyes, and she wasn't used to it. Wasn't used to seeing him without the distant, steeled look turning off his emotions produced.

"Just convince you," He said just as softly.

They stood there for a long moment, just looking at each other, until Damon spoke again.

"I am sorry. You were right, I had a choice," Damon admitted, and Bonnie was stunned that he had listened at all. She raised a brow to indicate he should continue. "I chose Elena. I always choose Elena," he raised his own brows now, shaking his head. She wanted to roll her eyes and push past him, but his grip tightened. Even as a human, she couldn't overpower him with her strength alone. "But I shouldn't have."

"It always comes back to Elena," Bonnie said. "I can't completely blame you for it because I know you are an obsessive sociopath."

Damon smirked.

"Just answer me one thing, Damon," Bonnie said, jerking her hand free. He released her wrist as she squared her shoulders and faced him. "Did you pick Abby over me because you actually care if I live or die," she narrowed her eyes, "Or because Elena would never forgive you if you went after me?"

"I do stupid things," Damon said, by way of explanation.

"I don't know what that means," Bonnie frowned, unimpressed.

"It means," Damon drew out the last word, as if to avoid continuing. "You're still under my protection." He frowned. "You will always be under my protection. I admit, I have lost sight of it and have made comments that I didn't mean to protect or win favour with Elena," Bonnie made a face, wondering what he said. "But," he continued pointedly, "When it comes down to it, I save you."

"You bit me."

"I bit," Damon bit out, "Emily."

"This neck," Bonnie pulled her scarf down to show him. "You bit _this neck_."

"Yeah, I saved that neck, too," Damon pointed out, "At the decade dance when someone couldn't face Klaus. Who had your back then?"

Bonnie scoffed, "And I saved you when you were in that burning building."

"And I was in that burning building because of the Gilbert device that _you_ did not de-spell!"

"You tried to kill my mother!"

"Turn her!" Damon protested, "I was going to turn her."

"Exactly."

"_Exactly_." Damon's hands clapped over Bonnie's shoulders. "_Her._ Not you."

"That doesn't make me feel better," Bonnie said.

"Bonnie, I'm not asking you for anything," Damon snapped. "I'm going to the Mikaelson's whether you want me there or not."

"Why?"

"Because _I_ am your protector. I may be pretty lame now as a human," he smirked, "But I'm not letting you go in there alone."

"You haven't protected me much," she reminded him.

"Better late than never?" he offered.

Bonnie sighed and said softly, "What's the real reason?"

"I owe you," Damon said just as quietly. "I'm not asking you for a damn thing as a human. I'm smart and rich and hot. I can figure this world out myself." His smug grin made Bonnie want to laugh in his face. "I haven't lived up to my name as your protector, and sometimes, I admit it, you're annoying." Now Bonnie did laugh in his face – _pot, kettle, anyone?_ "But I'm used to you, little bird. I don't want some ex-vampire breaking your neck. You're no less vulnerable as a human."

"Did Elena ask you to do this?" Bonnie said.

"No," Damon insisted.

"So you don't want anything? You just want to help me? As a," Bonnie hesitated, "friend?"

"Yes," Damon said. "And also, I have nothing better to do."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Fine, but I'm driving."

"Fine, but I'm sitting shotgun," Damon said. He moved to her car and she shook her head.

"No, no," Bonnie smile sweetly. "The Porsche. I'm driving the Porsche."

Damon frowned but tossed her the keys. "I can actually die in a car crash now," he realized belatedly, shooting Bonnie a worried look. She grinned in return.

Then she turned behind her and called out, "You can come out now, the Damon has been tamed."

Finn emerged from the shadows and Damon scowled.

"Finn spent the night here before I did?" He asked as he got into the car.

"_Before_ you did?" Bonnie rolled her eyes as Finn held the door open for her. She slid inside.

"Did I mention being human has made me very..."

"Don't finish that sentence," Bonnie warned.

"Horny," Damon turned his head to Bonnie and offered her a charming smile. As if he had just told her she was about to marry a prince.

"Ugh," Bonnie said.

"Ugh, indeed," Finn shook his head disapprovingly.

"What!" Damon barked, licking his lips. "Just being honest."


End file.
